Metropolitan Energy Center Awarded $3.8 Million Grant By U.S. Department of Energy

Metropolitan Energy Center and Kansas City Regional Clean Cities are delighted to have been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for federal funding to move the adoption of clean, domestic fuels even further into the transportation mainstream. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced August 22 that Kansas City Clean Cities, hosted by MEC, was one of five organizations nationwide sharing a total of $13.4 million in competitive grants.  DOE link

This funding will assist multiple projects and fuels in Missouri and Kansas. Private- and public-sector partners will cover just over half of total costs with their own commitments to cleaner fleets, new infrastructure and improved fueling facilities.

The grant covers the following projects:

• Propane fleet fueling for buses operated by the Grain Valley, MO R-5 School District
• A new time-fill compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station for the City of Garden City KS, and new CNG-powered heavy trash haulers
• Publicl CNG fueling at the Sapp Brothers Travel Center in Harrisonville, MO
• Additional CNG and electric-drive (EV) vehicles for Kansas City, MO’s municipal fleet
• Expanded public CNG fueling for the City of El Dorado, KS
• Expanded biodiesel use in campus fleet vehicles at the University of Kansas in Lawrence
• Expanded time-fill CNG fueling systems for the Blue Springs, MO R-IV School District
• Deployment of EV shuttle buses at KCI, along with high-speed charging systems
• New public CNG stations along I-70 in western Kansas  – though designed for access by any CNG vehicle, these stations are planned with heavy freight traffic in mind; construction will close a natural gas fueling gap that stretches from Topeka to Denver, and will encourage CNG adoption by additional freight fleets

We project a cumulative reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 3,377 metric tons by the end of Year Three of the project and the elimination of 46,375 barrels of petroleum. A conservative estimate shows savings of $888,615 in fuel costs through the end of year three for our partners and for fleets and drivers making the switch to cleaner, domestically produced energy.

A partner in the US Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program, Kansas City Regional Clean Cities is a coalition of public and private partners seeking to build the awareness and use of alternative fuels in fleets throughout Kansas and western Missouri. The coalition consists of fleet operators, alternative fuel providers, vehicle manufacturers and distributors, and others interested in improving air quality and reducing the use of foreign oil. It has been active since 1996 and was designated a DOE partner in 1998. For additional information, please visit our website www.metroenergy.org